Snowdrop consented, and went with him, and the marriage was celebrated with great pomp and splendour.
Now Snowdrop’s wicked step-mother was one of the guests invited to the wedding feast. When she had dressed herself very gorgeously for the occasion, she went to the mirror, and said:
‘Mirror, mirror, hanging there,
Who in all the land’s most fair?’
and the mirror answered:
‘My Lady Queen, you are fair, ‘tis true,
But Snowdrop is fairer far than you.’
When the wicked woman heard these words she uttered a curse, and was beside herself with rage and mortification. At first she didn’t want to go to the wedding at all, but at the same time she felt she would never be happy till she had seen the young Queen. As she entered Snowdrop recognised her, and nearly fainted with fear; but red-hot iron shoes had been prepared for the wicked old Queen, and she was made to get into them and dance till she fell down dead.[[29]]
[29] Grimm.
THE GOLDEN GOOSE
There was once a man who had three sons. The youngest of them was called Dullhead, and was sneered and jeered at and snubbed on every possible opportunity.
One day it happened that the eldest son wished to go into the forest to cut wood, and before he started his mother gave him a fine rich cake and a bottle of wine, so that he might be sure not to suffer from hunger or thirst.